Chakra is Sanskrit for wheel or disc, and the chakras are vortices of energy that spin as glowing wheels of light inside you. There are seven major chakras in the body. Each of them can be overactive or deficient, which means they are blocked and not in balance. At different points in the day, different days of the year, and different years of your life the chakras can become out of balance. Chakras can be out of balance since your time in the womb, or even earlier: in the yogic view, the karma you carry from your past lives is stored in the chakras. Throughout your life, what you experience on the outside (your environment, friends, and family) as well as what you experience inwardly (your thoughts and emotions) will affect your chakras and consequently your body and mind.

By becoming familiar with the physical and psychological signs and symptoms related to the functions of each chakra, you begin to understand how the chakras affect your mental, physical, and spiritual health. Then, you will know where to focus your healing energy. When the chakras are all spinning in balance, you will find it easier to be doing the things in your life that you want to do, with ease and joy. You will also be able to tap into your true desires and create the life that you truly want to live.

Each chakra's root is planted in the major current of energy that runs up and down the center of the spinal column. This line of energy is called the sushumna nadi. In between each of the chakras, along the sushumna, two other major currents of energy, nadis, cross back and forth. These are called the ida and pingala nadis. From the third eye the ida curves to the left, first, in a semicircular shape to cross the sushumna at the Throat Chakra. Then it curves in a semicircle to the right before crossing the sushumna and pingala at the Heart Chakra. The pingala nadi curves down the right side of the body, first, from the third eye and mirrors the pattern of the ida. There are different estimations of where the nadis meet with each criss-cross. One view is that the nadis cross in between the chakras, and those currents cause the chakras to spin, while the other view states that the ida and pingala cross at each chakra. Either way, the relevant point is that the chakras are affected by the flow of energy as it travels along the sushumna, ida, and pingala nadis.